Kicking and Screaming
by Colourful-Mess
Summary: Ashley Warren is a thug. There's no doubt about it. In CGL for numerous violent crimes, including attampted murder, he makes a huge impression on everyone. So why are there tears on his pillow at night? NO NEW GIRLS! MARYSUE FREE ZONE!
1. New girl? Guy? What?

**All right, this is my first fic for quite a while, so bear with me. It's more serious than my last ones, but it's different from other Holes fics because the OC isn't a girl, and doesn't fall in love with one of the people. Um… R&R please, I need feedback. I haven't written for long time. Also, tell me how you like the character Ashley. I generally don't write a lot of male characters. This is rated cuz of swearing, but if you're under 10 and feel tempted to read it, just miss out any bad words.**

**I O I O I O I O I**

"You've gotta be shittin' me!" X-Ray sighed, glaring at Dr Pendanski across the circle of boys, "Why's someone else coming here? Nobody's left! There's no vacancies! And the tent's tiny enough as it is! You're trying to shove another cot in? What's the idea? Do you get paid for this?"

"Well… yes," Dr Pendanski muttered, "But, Rex, this will be good for you all. You can learn to socialise with larger groups of people."

"Fuck off," were X-Ray's last words before he slumped in his seat in a sulk. Caveman sighed. These counselling sessions would be the death of him yet. Between Dr Pendanski's patronising everyone, X-Ray's strops and Zero's impossible silences, Caveman would rather be back in his tent or, preferably, at home. He'd almost rather be digging. Almost.

"What's this guy's name anyway? Zigzag piped up. Dr Pendanski checked a sheet of paper, blinked and looked surprised, then checked again.

"Ashley Warren," he said. The entire room let out a collective groan, even Zero.

"We're letting girls in now?" Armpit practically yelled, "This is a boys' camp, man! That's not right! She'll probably faint with the sun, and whine about blisters and being homesick and cry all the time! And where's she going to sleep?"

"I'm sure the Warden will think of all that," Pendanski reassured him. He took another look at the paper he was holding. "Ashley Warren…" he muttered to himself, deep in thought.

"Over my dead body!" X-Ray snapped.

Caveman rolled his eyes.

**I O I O I O I O I**

Ashley Warren drummed his fingers on the back of the seat in front of him and watched the desert go by. He was the only person on the bus apart from the driver and the guard, who glared at him as if he was a criminal. Which he was.

"Problem?" he snarled at the guard. The guard replied with a snort. He had all the grace and manners of a warthog. Ashley rolled his eyes and looked out the window. There was no scenery to look at, but he didn't care. He didn't like looking at scenery much anyway. However, he couldn't help noticing that the entire landscape was covered with holes, all about five feet in diameter. It looked like the desert had been attacked with a giant hole punch or a machine gun or something.

"What's with the holes?" he asked the guard. The guard still said nothing, but glared at him in a very intimidating way. To prove he wasn't scared, Ashley leaned towards the guard and grinned.

"_Parlez-vous l'Anglais?_" he asked. He may be a thug, but he was educated. You could intimidate and bully more people that way. The guard sneered at him.

"_Je n'aime pas vous_," Ashley snidely informed the guard, before sitting back in the chair and resting his feet on the seat in front.

"Take your feet off the seat!" the guard snapped. Ashley grinned.

"So you do speak English!" he said. The guard just growled and looked away. Just then, the bus ground to a halt and Ashley was sent flying, the only thing preventing him from going through the windscreen the handcuffs holding him to his chair. It was the guards turn to grin.

"Get up!" he snapped, after a good two minutes of laughing. Ashley rolled his eyes and indicated the handcuffs.

"It would help if you unlocked me," he said. The guard pulled the key from his pocked and dangled it in front of the boy's face.

"I could unlock you," he said teasingly, "But it would be fun to leave you here all night. Teach you to respect your elders."

As a reply, Ashley kicked out at him, catching the guard between the legs. The man doubled over in pain, clutching his bollocks for dear life.

"You gonna unlock me, fuckhead?" Ashley snarled. The guard stumbled to wards him and unlocked him. He grabbed a handful of Ashley's shaggy black hair and dragged him from the bus.

"Let go of me you dick!" Ashley yelled. The guard ignored him and continued to drag him across the camp roughly. Ashley let loose a stream of expletives at the top of his lungs. Orange-suited boys came wandering from the tents to watch the show.

As Ashley screamed and kicked at the guard, the boys all began to whisper and laugh. Then a shot broke through the air. All the boys hurried back to their tents quickly as a red-faced, cowboy hat-wearing man strode out of one of the cabins and glared at Ashley.

"Ashley Warren?" he asked dangerously.

"I'd nod, but this prick's grabbing onto my hair," Ashley said. The cowboy-hatted guy sighed and gestured towards the cabin.

"Bring him in," he sighed.

**I O I O I O I O I**

Ashley was subjected to half an hour of interrogating about his past, before who looked like one of the geeks Ashley had spent so many years torturing at school. The geek introduced himself as Dr Pendanski. Ashley couldn't suppress a snort. Like that was his real name.

"Now, Ashley, I want you to know that you may have done things, but that does not make you a bad kid. I respect you Ashley." Ashley almost laughed aloud at that. The guy sounded like he rehearsed that speech in front of the mirror.

He gave Ashley some bright orange overalls and told him to put them on. Ashley looked at them with an eyebrow raised.

"You want me to wear _these_?" he laughed, "You're joking. Do I look like someone who wears orange jumpsuits? I'm not a member of whatever geek brigade you're part of."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to put it on, Ashley," Pendanski said in a patronising voice, "It's the rules."

"You think I'd be here if I kept to the rules?" Ashley snapped, "I'm staying in my jeans."

"It'll be highly uncomfortable once you get to work," Pendanski warned. Ashley smiled. Reasoning. Pendanski was backing down.

"I'll live," Ashley grinned, snatching up his bag and heading back outside. Dr Pendanski followed him out, looking dejected.

"This is your tent," he told Ashley, leading him into a tent that looked 10 canvas, 50 mould and 40 hole. Ashley fixed a sneer on his face and strode in.

**I O I O I O I O I**

**Well that's a very short Prologue-type thing. R&R or (insert random threat). Haven't been on this site for a year, so I'm a bit rusty on the threats. Give me time. I'm open to constructive criticism. I said CONSTRUCTIVE! Don't be nasty, it's my birthday tomorrow! Tell me what you think of Ashley. I like him, but do you? That's the question!**


	2. First hole's the hardest right?

**Well here's the second instalment to Kicking and Screaming. Hopefully shall be a bit longer. Thank you to my… one reviewer sob for the review. Hopefully I shall get more this time round.**

**Crystalized Chaos: Ashley can be a girl or a guy's name. It's mostly a girl's name but there are exceptions. Thanks for the review!**

I O I O I O I O I

"New chick here?" Zigzag asked without turning round. Everyone else groaned and turned round. They froze. Ashley clenched and unclenched his fists for a long time, seemingly unsure of what to do. Eventually, after what seemed like eternity, he strode up to Zigzag, grabbed him by the lapels and shook him roughly.

"What did you just call me?" he bellowed in the boy's face.

"I… I thought you were going to be a girl…" Zigzag stammered. Ashley glared at him and gave him a hard cuff on the head before dropping him to the floor and looking round the tent as if nothing had happened.

"So where do I sleep?" he asked mildly. Zigzag picked himself up from the floor and hurried to the safety of his cot.

"Psycho," he muttered. Dr Pendanski cleared his throat.

"Boys," he said, "This is Ashley. Ashley, I'd like you to meet Theodore, Alan, Jose, Stanley, Zero, Rex and… um… Ricky. Rex will be your mentor. He can show you the ropes and help you if there's any trouble."

He said all this very quickly and hurried out, clearly desperate to get away from this crazy youth. X-Ray snorted.

"Trouble?" he muttered, "He'll be the trouble!"

Ashley glared at him. X-Ray caught his stare and glared back, staring him out. Ashley wanted to laugh. Not was would this guy stare him out. He'd been in countless one-on-one fights. They involved a lot of staring contests. This kid was going down.

I O I O I O I O I

Ashley lounged in his chair in the mess hall, stuffing the disgusting slop he'd been given for dinner into his mouth hungrily. The other boys regarded him with a cautious eye.

"So… Ashley," X-Ray said finally, "What you in here for?"

"Mmm…" Ashley mumbled. He swallowed and put his fork down. "A bunch of stuff. Joyriding."

The other boys nodded, content with that answer, but Ashley wasn't finished.

"Kidnapping," he went on, "Breaking and entering, theft, GBH, arson, attempted murder… the usual."

X-Ray stared at him. "You really are a psycho!" he said in genuine shock, "I can't believe they sent you here. I mean… you're a real criminal! You should be in jail, man!"

"I know," grinned Ashley, stuffing something that looked like spaghetti into his mouth, "Good grub," he commented. "They knew I'd done it, but they didn't have any proof. All they got was my prints on the steering wheel of the car I nicked. The guy's still in a coma so he can't identify me, and it was his car, so it was obvious his DNA would be in it. And the building's so badly burned there's nothing for the forensics to find."

X-Ray raised an eyebrow.

"Told you he was a psycho," Zigzag muttered.

"That's like Al Capone," Zero mumbled. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise apart from Caveman, and Ashley, who was still stuffing his face.

"Wonders will never cease," said Magnet, "Who's Cal Dapone?"

"Al Capone," Caveman corrected, saving his friend from having to talk any more, "He was a Mafia boss. He was a massive criminal, but all they could get him for was fiddling his income tax."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to meet that guy," he said, pushing his empty plate to the side.

"He's dead," Caveman told him bluntly, and went back to eating his spaghetti. Caveman surprised Ashley. The rest of D-tent were really a bunch of uneducated delinquents, but Caveman was obviously well brought up. He was well-spoken and had table manners and was generally a nice, polite guy. Ashley couldn't imagine him nicking anything or buying drugs or whatever.

"So what're you in here for, Caveman?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I stole a pair of shoes," Caveman mumbled. Ashley laughed out loud.

"They sent you here for nicking some shoes?" he laughed.

"They were Sweetfeets," Caveman told him, as way of an answer. Ashley shrugged.

"Dunno who he is," he said. Ignoring the others' amazed looks, he sat back in his seat and took a deep breath.

"What about the rest of you?" he asked. It wasn't 'til now that he realised just how desperate for a fag he was. Good job he'd smuggled some (and some crack) in the lining of his bag. Mr Sir had searched the bag, but he hadn't found anything. Ashley had re-sewed the lining well. Sewing wasn't a sissy thing to him. It was a talent.

He wasn't surprised at the boys' reactions. He'd seen the same reaction in every juvie and detention centre he'd been in. They all seemed neither ashamed nor proud of what they'd done. They'd broken the law, they'd got caught. It was just a fact. No biggie.

"Shoplifting," Magnet told him.

"Arson."

"Nicked money from work."

"Shoplifting."

"Dealing."

"Fighting."

What a bunch of lightweights. Ashley tried not to speak his mind. Speaking his mind had got him more than just a few black eyes and broken ribs in the other camps he'd been to. And at home. Instead, he just stood up.

"I'm going back to the tent," he said. He got up and hurried out towards the tent. He needed a smoke now more than ever.

I O I O I O I O I

The first few days of Ashley's sentence went by without incident. He hadn't minded digging the holes, though he had to admit it was a dumb idea. Still, it was better than making rope, or spending hours in a hot kitchen cooking old fish, or getting the shit beat out of you, like he'd done at his last few juvies. One thing he didn't like, however, was the fact that he'd discovered, to his pain and humiliation, that Pendanski had been right about jeans. They were fucking uncomfortable to work in. Instead of admitting this to anyone, and wearing the crap orange jumpsuit, he'd stripped to his boxers. He didn't care. There was nothing wrong with that. He'd never been ashamed of his body (years of running from the police and getting into fights tended to give you a lot of muscles. And if you happened to get a few scars, so what?). Anyway, it was better than admitting Pendanski had been right.

He'd been christened 'Capone' by his fellow D-tenters, after Al Capone (naturally). They didn't talk to him much (apart from X-Ray, who seemed to ignore the fact that he was a complete thug). Ashley liked it that way. He had always been a loner, and, as far as he was concerned, he would be forever. He didn't care. He didn't like human company that much.

On the fifth day, at about two in the afternoon, Mr Sir's truck pulled up. Everyone quickly drained their canteens, ready for the next top up. They were to be disappointed.

"Warren!" he bellowed. He looked at the other boys, all staring at the water truck expectantly, and laughed.

"Sorry ladies," he laughed, "No water yet! This ain't a Girl Scout camp!"

Ashley heaved himself out of his hole and pulled his jeans on as he wondered exactly why Mr Sir felt obliged to keep reminding them that it wasn't a Girl Scout camp every few seconds. He doubted they made Girl Scouts dig holes all day.

Mr Sir looked him up and down, but said nothing. Still, as Ashley climbed into the truck, he heard him laugh quietly.

Asshole.

I O I O I O I O I

Zero was first finished digging his hole. As usual. Squid and X-Ray finished not long after him, and walked back to camp together. On the way back, they discussed the new guy.

"He's a psycho! Squid said, "I mean, he hit Zigzag in front of Pendanski and he didn't even say nothing!"

"Pendanski wouldn't say anything even if Capone shot Zigzag in the face," X-Ray pointed out. Squid shrugged.

"Still, he's done a lot," he protested, "Attempted murder? Kidnapping? The worst anyone here's done is arson! I mean, Caveman's here for stealing a pair of shoes! That's guy's weird."

"Ssh!" X-Ray hissed suddenly. Squid stared at him enquiringly. X-Ray beckoned for Squid to follow him. He slipped round the side of Mr Sir's office-cabin. X-Ray pressed his eye against a gap in the corrugated iron and looked at what was going on.

Capone was sitting on a chair, his feet up on Mr Sir's desk. Mr Sir was clearly very pissed off. He kept grabbing onto the handle of his gun, like a kid grabbing onto their teddy. But he didn't say anything. Ashley, on the other hand, seemed, to X-Ray, totally laid back. X-Ray clearly didn't know him at all.

"Is that all, then?" Ashley asked Mr Sir lightly, "One extra charge? That's not much, with my rap sheet."

Mr Sir said nothing. He clearly hated Ashley as much as he hated all the others. Possibly even more. He handed Ashley a letter with a smirk that X-Ray knew was far too evil for the letter to be something good. Ashley, however, didn't know Mr Sir that well, and took the letter without a thought.

He took a while to read it. X-Ray wasn't sure if this was because he was finding it hard to take whatever it was in, or just because he wasn't a great reader.

As he got to the end of the letter, his face went white. The hand that was holding the letter began to shake so violently that he almost dropped it. He stopped reading, and just sat there, staring at the wall. Slowly, he crumpled the letter in his hand and dropped it to the floor. Then he got up and paced round the room. He seemed very calm, but looked like he was about to explode. Even Mr Sir backed away. Then he flipped.

He grabbed Mr Sir's desk and flung it over. Papers and beer bottles and bags of sunflower seeds went flying. Ashley stormed across the cabin and threw a file cabinet to the floor. He opened his mouth and began yelling at the top of his lungs. He grabbed the door and pulled it off its hinges, and sprinted across the camp to their tent, knocking over anyone who stood in his way. X-Ray turned to look at Squid.

"Ok, I need to know what was in that letter."

I O I O I O I O I

**Ta-da! Second chappie! Please read and review. I'm open to any constrictive criticism (yeah, I said CONSTRUCTIVE), suggestions and praise if you like. I especially need feedback on the character of Ashley. I've never done someone like him before.**

**JAR**


	3. OK, someone has issues

**Well, this is a faster update than usual. Probably because I got much better feedback. Thank you, lovely reviewers! I was going to wait for a while before I told you what was in the letter, but due to a lack of other storyline (no girls, no romance as a sub-story. It's all pretty centred around that damn letter! See my problem?), I'm letting you know now. I'll work from there. I'm very open to suggestions, still.**

**I'm dedicating this chappie to dorkyduck and ilovecyberchase, because they are very lovely and review.**

**dorkyduck: Your wish is my command! Hope what's in the letter isn't disappointing. Please review this chappie, I like feedback!**

**ilovecyberchase: Wow! Thanks for that! I'm glad you like Ashley (or the way I've made him, at least). Please read and review more!**

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

The next morning, Ashley was gone when the other boys woke up at four AM. As they drowsily got dressed in their orange overalls, they looked at his empty cot curiously.

"You reckon he's run away?" Squid asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Zigzag shrugged.

"If he has, he'll be buzzard food by noon. Good!"

Nobody had anything to say to that. It was cruel, but they all agreed. None of them liked Ashley. If he was dead, they wouldn't care. He was a creep. A psycho.

"His pillow's wet," Caveman piped up suddenly. Everyone looked at him. He was holding Ashley's pillow, clearly intent on stealing it. Well, they were so flat, you needed at least three. No point in wasting it.

"What?" X-Ray said, almost laughing. Caveman tossed him the pillow. X-Ray felt it lightly.

"Hey, Caveman's right!" he said, sounding surprised. He tossed the pillow down on his bed. "Mine," he added. Caveman laughed.

"That was a sly trick, X-Ray!" he said. X-Ray shrugged.

"It's a dog-eat-dog world, Caveman," he said, "It's eat or be eaten."

There was a silence. It was clear that everyone was imagining a buzzard-eat-guy world - buzzards ripping Ashley apart. Or possibly Ashley ripping the buzzards apart.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

When they got to the site for hole-digging, they found a half-dug hole. In the hole was a tall, orange-suited figure with stringy black hair and dirt on his face.

"Capone?" Magnet said as they got closer. Ashley glared up at him.

"Problem?" he growled, flinging a shovel of dirt at the group of boys. They all took a step back, brushing the dirt off themselves.

"Why're you up so early?" Squid asked. Ashley didn't answer for a while, digging angrily.

"Wanted to get it over with," he muttered finally, "It's a shit idea, anyway. Why do we have to dig holes? I'm only sixteen! I'm a minor! That's unpaid child labour, you know!"

"For someone who's broken so many laws, you seem pretty sure of all your rights!" Caveman muttered under his breath. Ashley froze.

"What did you say?" he said, so quietly that they could hardly hear him. Caveman stepped backwards and the others formed a protective ring around him.

"Don't try it!" hissed Armpit, "Nobody messes with the Caveman!"

Ashley climbed out of the hole, threw his shovel to the ground, walked right up to Armpit and stared him straight in the face. Armpit was almost twice as wide as him, but he didn't back down.

"I mess with who I want!" Ashley growled into his face. Armpit continued to glare at him. Ashley sighed. "Some people just don't take the hint!" he muttered, and punched him in the face, knocking Armpit to the ground.

Armpit fell heavily. Before he could get up, Ashley kicked him in the stomach, the face, the head… until Armpit was almost unconscious. When Arpmit had stopped squirming, and lay still, out cold, with a trail of blood trickling from his mouth, Ashley finally stopped and glared at the others.

"**THERE!**" he screamed at them, pointing at Armpit, "That's what happens to you if you mess with me! Now can you all leave me alone and stop asking fucking questions all the time! You leave me be, and we'll get on fine! If you don't I'll make you life hell until one of us leaves here! And the way things are going, it won't be me!"

He turned and ran away, towards the camp. The others watched him go.

"I told you he was a psycho!" said Zigzag, "I told you!"

"Go get Mr Sir," X-Ray told him quietly. Zigzag obeyed, scurrying off to camp. There was a silence. Then Magnet spoke up.

"He was wearing his overalls."

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

Ashley didn't get in trouble. As much as the D-tent boys hated him, they didn't tell tales. It just wasn't right. Anyway, they wanted to get him back in their own way.

X-Ray cornered him after showers. Usually, one of the others would do the initial ambush, but he was the only one who volunteered this time. Nobody wanted to end up like Armpit.

He grabbed Ashley by the back of the jumpsuit and pushed him against the wall. He may be half blind, but he was pretty strong. Ashley was taken completely by surprise and didn't have time to react.

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed when he found himself pinned against the wall.

"This is revenge for Armpit!" X-Ray snapped. From surrounding tents came Magnet, Zigzag, Caveman and Squid. They gathered round Ashley, cornering him. Ashley was scared. He would never admit that, but he was. He'd been in this situation before, surrounded and outnumbered by people who were generally bigger than him, and intent on kicking his ass. He'd ended up in hospital four times from ambushes like that – once with three broken ribs, twice with a broken arm and once with a face so smashed up that he had to have surgery. He didn't want that to happen again. But he didn't have a choice. He'd beat the crap out of their friend. Now they were going to beat the crap out of him. It was numbingly predictable.

"Make it quick!" he groaned, "I've had worse. At least you guys don't have baseball bats or crowbars."

The D-tenters exchanged confused glances. Was he actually not scared? This was weird. X-Ray turned to the others.

"Take him to the tent!" he ordered them, and Ashley found himself being dragged across the camp to the tent. X-Ray followed with a small, but still very smug grin on his face. Ashley hated that boy.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

Squid and Magnet pinned Ashley to his cot with an arm twisted behind his back, so he couldn't move. X-Ray sat opposite him, flanked by Caveman and Zigzag. Zigzag glared at him as if he was the love child of Hitler and Satan himself. Ashley couldn't think of anything to say.

"You know Armpit didn't wake up for an hour?" X-Ray asked him. Ashley shrugged.

"Got him out of digging holes, didn't I?" he said flatly. Squid twisted his arm hard. Ashley yelled out.

"Ow! _Cette blessure, dingue_!"

Every looked at him, confused. What kind of psycho language was that? He smirked at them. He liked confusing people. Though, to be perfectly honest, he hadn't meant to speak French. It was a kind of reflex.

"Why did you beat up Armpit?" X-Ray pressed, "He didn't do anything to you!"

Ashley shrugged. "Having an off day?" he tried. X-Ray sighed.

"Let me talk to him alone, guys," he told his friends. They protested, but left the tent. X-Ray sat forward and looked Ashley in the eye.

"What was in the letter?" he asked. Ashley winced, but quickly tried to hide his surprise.

"Letter?" he asked, "What're you talking about?"

X-Ray sighed. "The letter that made you trash Mr Sir's office yesterday. Which was probably the letter that made you beat up Armpit. That letter?"

Ashley smirked and sat back. "Not saying," he sneered. X-Ray pressed his face very closely to Ashley's.

"Don't push me," he snarled, "You've hit one of my friends and you've beat up another. You've threatened us, you've ignored us, you've intimidated us and, to be completely honest, you've terrified most of us. But not me. Don't think I'd hesitate for a second before putting you into a coma. And don't think that none of the others would gladly help. Now you're going to tell me exactly what was in that letter right now, or I think I might have to get Zigzag. And trust me, he's pretty eager to get some bruises on your face."

Ashley sighed.

"It's personal," he said after a silence. X-Ray raised his eyebrows. Ashley sighed again.

"_Ils ont une autre charge contre moi_," he said. X-Ray had to try very hard to avoid punching Ashley in the face. Luckily for Ashley, his curiosity got the better of him.

"In English," he said simply.

"They have another charge against me," he said slowly, glaring at X-Ray in contempt.

"That's it?" X-Ray said, almost laughing, "You almost killed someone! I don't think it can get much worse than that."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Ashley muttered bitterly, "But this is a fuckload worse. Apparently I'm a sex offender now."

X-Ray nearly choked. "I know you were a psycho!" he said, "But I didn't think you were a rapist! You are seriously fucked in the head for a sixteen-year-old!"

"Oh, fuck off!" Ashley snapped, "You don't actually think I did it? I might beat people up and stuff, but I'm not a paedo!"

"Then why are you getting done for it?" X-Ray argued.

"It's personal!" Ashley protested.

X-Ray didn't say anything, but he cracked his knuckles very threateningly. Ashley wasn't stupid. He knew the international sign language for _I'm going to kick your ass_.

"Fine!" Ashley shouted, his anger rapidly returning, "If you have to know, my girlfriend's up the fucking duff!"

"What?" X-Ray was confused. Not quite the reaction Ashley was expecting. He rolled his eyes.

"_Enceinte_. Preg-nant," he said, very slowly.

"Oh," X-Ray said, "Congratulations?" He hated to admit it, but he was actually starting to feel sorry for Ashley. Being a father at sixteen must be crap. The phrase "_goodbye, life_" sprang to mind. Though Ashley would probably spend most of his life in jail anyway.

"That's the fucking point!" Ashley snapped, "It's not my fucking kid! She only says it is! She just wants to drop me in it because she's mad at me for getting arrested after I told her I was going straight!"

"How do you know?" X-Ray asked.

"I never fucking slept with her!" Ashley growled, "She was only fourteen! You think I'd make her do something like that before she was legal? I don't mind breaking the law, but I don't want her getting into any trouble. I guess she doesn't feel the same fucking way!"

There was a silence.

"You tell anybody that, and I'll kill you!" he added, as an afterthought. And he was being serious. And X-Ray knew it.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

**Ah, a slightly terribly written chappie. Oh well, as long as the criticism's constructive, I don't mind. Next chappie's going to be a bit weird, but I'm trying to build up some sympathy. Remember – I NEED FEEDBACK ON ASHLEY! I need to know how to improve my characters.**

**Oh – and a disclaimer: I don't own Holes. Which is obvious. Why else would I be on a FAN fiction site? I'm making no money from this, so even if Louis Sachar was scouting this site for people who put on fics on Holes without his permission, he wouldn't have a case if he wanted to sue me. I do own Ashley however. HE'S MINE!**

**JAR**


	4. Check the history, dickhead!

**Ok, I said this chappie would be weird, so here goes. It's written from Ashley's point of view. It's entirely his thoughts, so lots of angst, lots of flashbacks and lots of swearing! Never tried something like this before, but I like to experiment with writing techniques. Hope you like it. Remember I NEED FEEDBACK! And keep the criticism constructive.**

**This chappie is dedicated to lexicuti4eva and Juicy Fruit Girl, my new reviewers!**

**lexicuti4eva: Thanks. As you can see, I am continuing. Hope you like it.**

**ilovecyberchase: You feel sorry for Ashley? Then you should like this chappie. Let me know if it's too heavy. Though it is angst, so you should expect that. Glad to hear you like it. Keep reading and reviewing.**

**dorkyduck: I love the vocab. I, myself, tend to use the word "yicky", but that's just my opinion. But you'll find more out about the icky girlfriend in this chappie, regardless of whether she's icky or yicky. Please review.**

**Juicy Fruit Girl: I'm glad you like it. I was getting bored of "girl" stories, so I wrote this, because Ashley is the OPPOSITE of a Mary-Sue. I do watch Lost, and Sawyer is wonderful and cool and sexy! I hate Kate! Though Hurley is quite cool, but in a less hot and more hairy way. Please review.**

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

That letter made me sick. Physically sick. I was up all night, chucking my guts up. I really couldn't believe Stephanie would cheat on me. That slut! That fucking slag!

I really loved her. I know if I told X-Ray or any of those amateurs that, they wouldn't believe me. How could that psycho love someone? But I did. Ever since I met her, I loved her. I was willing to go straight for her. What happened was just an accident. Well, not an accident as such, but it couldn't really be helped.

When I met her, I actually thought I could turn my life around. I thought she could be my new start. And it was going really well too. But my old life just had to come back and bite me in the fucking ass, didn't it? My old life, which I'd tried so hard to forget. Especially the first twelve years.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

Aged twelve: my typical day.

I'd wake up at about five in the morning. My dad would be up by then, but he'd be out to the pub already. My mum would be awake, and searching the house for any drugs. When she couldn't find any, she'd go off to meet her dealer and get some more.

I'd get out of bed and get dressed. I only had two set of clothes. We didn't have money for luxuries like clothes. I was too young to drop out of school, and neither of my parents worked. Any money we got from the state was squandered on drink and drugs. I nicked as much of my mum's drugs as I could and sold them so I could at least afford food. Once she caught me stealing them.

_"You want the fucking crack?" she'd screamed, forcing the rusty needle into my arm, "You can have it! You fucking stealing junkie! You fucking son of a bitch!"_

She never saw the irony in that.

I almost died.

I'd get my little sister, Jackie, out of bed and got her to school. After I'd sold my mum's drugs to some kids at my school I'd take the rest of the day off. Go out, nick stuff. We needed the money. Then I'd go and buy some food. I ate some before I got home. If I didn't, they'd just eat it all. I'd pick Jackie up from school and give her some supper too.

We usually got home about six. By then, my parents would be home. My mum would usually be out of her face, and my dad'd just be pissed. My dad would be yelling and my mum would just be lying there. As soon as we stepped through the door, my dad would start on us.

"Where the _fuck_ have you been?" he'd scream. I'd push Jackie upstairs quickly before he could do anything to her. My dad hated that. He thought I didn't know what he did to her. But I did. Even thinking about it made me sick.

_"You think you're so fucking smart, don't you?" he'd scream at me. Then he'd hit me. He was a strong man, and I was just a kid. I'd scream, beg him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. Sometimes he'd come at me with something heavy – a bottle or a lamp or something. Once he came at me with a kitchen knife._

By the time I was twelve, my dad had driven a knife three inches into my thigh.

My mum had forced a needle loaded with crack into my arm.

My dad had beat me mercilessly.

I'd been kicked out of two schools for never turning up.

I'd had to steal, sell drugs and fight to afford to feed my little sister.

And people wonder why I'm messed up.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

I told the blind kid, X-Ray or whatever he calls himself, not to tell anyone what I told him. The only reason I told him was that I needed to get off my chest. He seemed the most likely to understand. He was the closest to a real criminal they had in the place.

I don't think he told the others. I'm not sure what he told them though, because they've all started staring at me weird. Except that weird tall one. He just glares at me. Sometimes I feel like yelling at him, "Get a fucking grip! Yeah, I hit you, but I hit everyone! Stop being such a fucking whiner!"

The hole digging's not bad. Nobody's commented on the fact that I wear my overalls now. I'm glad, because if they asked me why, I couldn't tell them. I don't even know myself.

I guess that when I came here, rebelling and wearing my jeans was my way of reminding myself that I still had my own life, no matter how fucked up it was. When I got the letter, I felt like I didn't want my own life any more. Stephanie was my life. And now she's gone. Stupid bitch.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

I met Stephanie a year ago, when I was fifteen. I was going to court to stand trial for something. I forget what. I had a meeting with a lawyer, and that day, her daughter came with her. Something about work experience. She was thirteen at the time, but she looked so much older. She was hot.

Yeah, I know, sounds like one of these shitty romantic novels that they make you read at school. You know, the lawyer's daughter and the teenage crook. But in real life, it was different. For a start, we didn't have to hide that we were going out. His mum liked me. And why shouldn't she? I was one of her best clients.

I got off with whatever I was being charged for. Stephanie's mum's a good lawyer. I think they just gave me community service, because Stephanie came to see me while I was picking up litter sometimes. Community service had never been so good.

She was so fantastic. We'd go out clubbing sometimes. A lot of clubs didn't let us in, but we didn't care. There was always a way to sneak in.

Everything always felt so great when I was with Stephanie. She was just so cool to be around. We had so much in common. We liked all the same stuff and never fought or anything. Until that day when she told me she'd had enough:

_"Ashley," she'd said, very seriously, "We need to talk."_

_She'd never said that to me before. I felt sick. Was she going to break up with me? Thinking back, I wish she had._

_"I love you, you know that," she said. I let out a small sigh of relief. "But I don't know how much longer I can put up with you going in and out of police custody. My mum's your lawyer, Ash. I know all the laws you've broken. It scares me sometimes. And while you're still doing this, I can't see this relationship going anywhere."_

What else could I do? I loved Stephanie. Crime was just a hobby. A habit, if you liked. I used to do it to survive, now I did it for kicks.

So I promised her I would go straight. And I did, for a whole six months. Then the thing that fucked up my "new" life happened. It only took a week, but that week will be inscribed on my memory forever. But I can't even think about it.

IOIOIOIOIOIOI

I know who she screwed too. Ryan Turriff, my best mate for years. I met him at juvie when I was twelve. I'd been arrested for dealing, and put in for six months. They'd searched our house and found the state it was in. Jackie was taken into care. I haven't seen her since. I think that was what changed me. She was the only thing I lived for. After she was gone, there was no point. I had no real parents to make proud. No brothers or sisters to set standards for any more. No, I had nobody. That's why it was so easy for Ryan to convert me. The fucking wanker.

He slept in the same cell as me. He was fifteen, and a hard-bitten criminal. He was in a gang, which, for a twelve-year-old kid, was really cool. He had knife wounds in his stomach, and a bullet wound in his shoulder, which was even cooler. Everyone was scared of him. He was so cool

He took me under his wing when I came. Said I had potential. I think that's just because he saw all the scars my fuckhead of a dad had given me, when we were in the showers. He wouldn't let anyone hurt me. Sometimes they still got me when he wasn't there and beat the shit out of me, but he hunted them down and made sure they paid.

He taught me everything he knew, and looked after me once we got out as well. Soon, I was worse than he was. By the time I was fifteen, I had stolen anything I could.

I had beaten people up for kicks.

I had got myself hooked on crack.

I had sold drugs.

I had set fire to someone's house – while they were still in it.

I had stolen fifteen cars.

I had been arrested 17 times.

I had been sent to juvie three times.

I had slept on the streets.

Like I said, you wonder why I'm messed up? Check out the fucking history, dickhead!

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

So now I'm sixteen. I've been assaulted by my dad. I've been scarred for life. I've been to juvie. My best friend's fucked my girlfriend. I've been blamed for it. I've even… I don't even like to think about it. Long story short, I'm here.

Boy, do I need a break.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOI**

**Sorry for the longness in updating. My sister's had exams so she's been on the computer all the time! Please give me feedback. If you're a flanmer, leave now. DO NOT press that review button. Though it would give me a laugh**.

**JAR**


	5. Un autre appel téléphonique

**OK, I hope you liked the last chapter. It's a bit weird, but we're back in 3rd person now, so back to normality. Or abnormality, depending on how you look at it. Please keep reviewing. This is probably the second last chappie, because I don't want it to drag on. But don't fear, because I will write more! So review while you still can and (all together now) keep the criticism _CONSTRUCTIVE!_**

**dorkyduck: Ooh! A cookie! Can I have a white chocolate one please? I'm trying to think of some dreadful fate for Stephanie, because she smells. Though being pregnant at 14 can't be great. Anyhoo, there'll be two more chapters so I'll think of something. Please review.**

**Juicy Fruit Girl: Sorry you didn't like the last chappie as much. Hopefully you'll like this one more. This is the one when you find out what Ashley did to end up in Camp Greenlake. Ashley probably wouldn't kill you if you hugged him, because he doesn't hit girls. He might kill your dad/boyfriend/brother though. Lol. I'm guessing you're American, so Lost is released there first. I've only seen up to the first few episodes of series three. What happens? Please review.**

**Robo-vamp: Thanks. I was really getting bored of the girl ones and I'm sure I wasn't the only one so I thought I'd write something different. Glad you like. Please review.**

**lexicuti4eva: I'm updating! I'm updating! Sorry it took so long, I had a lot of exams on. Please review.**

**narutorules03: OK, I haven't read yours yet, because I've been uber busy, but I will! Honest! Glad you like this. Ashley's crimes aren't exaggerated, you find out about them in this chappie, and a bit in the last one. Please review.**

**IOIOIOIOIOIOIOI**

Ashley was in the tent. He hardly came out of the tent any more, except for digging and showers. He didn't eat. He hadn't eaten anything for two days.

The others were in the wreck room. They'd been avoiding Ashley, generally since he'd arrived, but especially since the letter had arrived.

Zigzag was staring at the smashed-up TV, as usually. Caveman and Zero were in a corner, reading something. Squid was working out, or pretending to, with the weights in the middle of the room. Armpit and X-Ray were sitting between them all, talking.

The subject of the conversation was Ashley, as it had been for some time. It was like a soap opera, keeping up with everything that was going on with him. If only he wasn't such a complete asshole, it would be great entertainment.

"_Seven_… _eight_… did you ever find out what was in that letter, man?" Squid asked X-Ray as he lifted the weights.

"Well… yeah," X-Ray said. He was desperate to tell them. And why shouldn't he? Ashley was a complete dickhead. And there was no chance that he could beat X-Ray up when all the others were around. And the others had a right to know. Sort of.

"It's his girlfriend," X-Ray began.

"Holy shit! He killed her, didn't he?" Zigzag shouted from beside the TV. Nobody even turned round. Everyone in the room knew they were talking about Ashley. Nobody gave a shit. Everybody hated him.

"No, she's just up the duff," X-Ray said. He couldn't help using Ashley's words. "Pregnant," he corrected himself quickly, "She's fourteen."

"He slept with a fourteen-year-old?" Caveman asked, shocked, from the corner.

"No! that's why he's so upset," X-Ray said. He was getting defensive. He didn't know why. He didn't even like Ashley. In fact, he hated him. So why did he feel sorry for the bastard?

"You mean it's someone else's?" Armpit asked. X-Ray nodded.

"Poor… _eleven_… bastard," Squid said, between lifts of the weights. Everyone stared at him. "What?" he protested, "Have none of… _twelve_… you ever been cheated… _thirteen_… on? And she's pregnant? That makes it even… _fourteen_… worse!"

"His own fault! muttered Zigzag, "He shouldn't have got himself put in here. Then he could be there to keep an eye on her."

"It's hardly his fault he came… _seventeen_… here though, is it?" Squid protested. Like X-Ray, he had no idea why he was getting so defensive. As far as he was concerned, Ashley was an arrogant, thuggish, dickhead who could rot in hell for all he cared. So why did he feel sorry for him?

"He tried to kill someone!" Zigzag reminded him.

"He might have had a good... _twenty_... reason," Squid said, hating himself with every word, "Have you noticed he's been wearing his overalls since he got the letter? T_wenty one_...Weird, huh?"

"He hasn't been eating either," X-Ray added, "I'm surprised he hasn't collapsed digging those holes yet."

"That's because he's been injecting crack into his arm every day!" Zigzag pointed out, "I bet he doesn't need food if he's got that to keep him going. He's a junkie, man. A murdering, stealing son of a bitch."

There was a noise from the door. Everyone looked round. Armpit and Caveman automatically moved defensively beside Zigzag.

"Chill guys," Ashley said quietly. He sounded tired. His face was chalk white and he looked like he might collapse any minute. He didn't look like the same guy who'd intimidated them all so much less than two weeks before. It was like all the confidence had leaked out of him. He flopped down on a chair, set away from the others. Story of his life. Always apart from the others, never belonging to anything or anyone.

Everyone stared at him for a while. Nobody said anything.

"_Je ne vous frapperai pas_," he muttered, "_Bien que je prévois que vous aimeriez me frapper_."

X-Ray stood up. "What's with the French?" he burst out, "You're a thug! I bet you haven't been inside a school since you were ten! How do you know fucking French?"

There was another silence. X-Ray felt a bit stupid. He wasn't sure why he'd felt a sudden suicidal ugre to confront Ashley. And he wasn't sure why, out of all the things Ashley did, the fact that he spoke French annoyed him the most.

Ashley shrugged, after a bit of thought. "I went to France for a few months, when I was fourteen, to get away from someone who was a bit pissed off at me. Thought I might as well learn the language. I wanted to stay there, but they deported me after four months."

"You learnt French in four months?" Squid couldn't help being surprised. He sat up from the weights and looked at Ashley with a weird fascination, as if he was some living soap opera character. And, in a way, he was.

"I might not have been to much school, but I'm not thick!" Ashley said. Nobody commented. They were scared to.

But still, Ashley didn't look like he had the energy to hurt them. He slumped in his chair and closed his eyes. For a minute, his face was clear of any anger or worry. In fact, even though it was just for that one minute, he could almost be mistaken for a normal sixteen-year-old kid. Maybe it was that, or maybe it was just a moment of madness, that made Caveman suddenly blurt out what he did.

"Why did you're girlfriend cheat on you?"

Everyone stared at him. Ashley sat up. All the blood drained from his face until he was the colour of sour milk. His hands started shaking and clenching and unclenching. Slowly, he turned to X-Ray, his face burning with anger and hurt.

"You _bastard_!" he growled, "I can't believe you told them!"

He turned to look at the others.

"I told her I was going straight. I did. Then something happened, which I couldn't let slide. So I got the guy who did it. Now he's in a coma. All they could get me for was nicking his car. Stephanie got mad. She's trying to stick it to me. Happy?"

"How do you know it's not your kid?" Squid asked him. He tensed up, immediately wishing he'd said nothing. Ashley looked suspiciously at X-Ray who shook his head slightly. Ashley shrugged.

"I don't," he said finally. He got up and strolled out of the room, trying to look casual. He almost succeeded too, but his shaking hands gave him away.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOIOI**

Ashley got another phone call the next day. Once again, Mr Sir pulled up in the truck around midday. Ashley climbed out of his hole and swaggered towards the truck. He jumped in and the drove off.

"He's certainly recovered well," Caveman commented, "A few days ago he was smashing the place up. He was crying for fuck's sake! Now look at him. He's walking about like he owns the place again!"

"Just as long as he stays out of my face!" muttered Zigzag, flinging a shovel of dirt into Ashley's hole.

X-Ray didn't say a thing. He was sure he knew what Mr Sir was going to tell him. Perhaps he'd been found guilty of sexual assault. Then he'd have to go to a real jail. Nicking a car was one thing, but sexual assault was another matter entirely. As much as he disliked Ashley, he didn't deserve to be done for that.

**IOIOIOIOIOIOIOI**

When they all got back, they found Ashley forcing his things into his bag angrily.

"Running away?" Squid asked, keeping his distance in case Ashley took a swing at him.

"You think I'm stupid?" Ashley snapped, shoving his jeans into his rucksack, "I'm not going to run off and get eaten by a buzzard! No, I'm… I'm leaving."

"You're innocent?" Zigzag asked in surprise.

"No," Ashley replied, without a hint of emotion, "I'm guilty. I'm going to jail. A real jail."

**IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO**

**Dun dun duuuuun! OK, that's not really a cliffie, but I just really wanted to do that. Next chappie will be the last, so make the most of it! Sorry for the lateness of this chappie, but I had a ton of tests and exams and EVERYONE has their birthday in Febuary! Please review!**

**JAR**


	6. By the time I was eighteen

**LAST CHAPPIE! sob I miss you already! But I'll write more. And if anyone doesn't like this ending, too bad! But still review! Short and angsty, and a bit sad:(**

**dorkyduck: This is the last chappie, and it's short. Sorry! But it's fully Ashley, so please forgive me! Review!!!**

**IOIOIOIOIOI**

_A few months later:_

I heard about Camp Greenlake. One of the guys in jail got a paper. It was a week old when we got it, but it's still nice to know what's going on in the outside world. Apparently there was some kind of fraud there, and its shut down. The guys were released for time served. Apparently, Zero and Caveman are now millionaires. Lucky bastards. The thing that really pissed me off was that it could have been me. If I'd hung on for a few more months in that dump, I could have been back home, with Stephanie.

But no, the phonecall had to come through to Mr Sir and instead of getting to go home, I get sent to juvie, where there's a fight every day, and guys slash your face in the showers. I'd always tried to forget the face slashing in the other juvies. But its kind of hard to forget when there's dried blood on your face, stinging every time you move your face. Last night, they slashed me so close to my eye, I was almost blinded. It was the worst feeling in the world, standing there, blood running into your eyes, tasting the coppery taste of my own blood. I didn't know whether the pain or the humiliation hurt more.

No, there was a worse feeling. I got a letter yesterday.

Stephanie had her baby, and it was a girl. She called it Ashley. Stupid _bitch!_ They did a DNA test too. Turns out it wasn't my baby. I was right, it was that bastard Ryan's Turriff's kid. But I didn't care anymore. I had bigger problems.

**IOIOIOIOIOI**

My life was getting better until my sister died. Jackie, Jackie, Jackie. She was my whole point of living. When they took her away, I was devastated. I only ever got to see her once a month or so. But I lived for that once a month. Even Stephanie took second place to Jackie.

Then, one day my dad got really, really pissed. He turned up at Jackie's foster home in the middle of the night and forced her into his car. The cops said he was going at over a hundred miles an hour down the motorway. A lorry hit them side on. They said she died immediately. My dad broke a rib. That was it. He took her life away from her. He took _my_ life away from _me_ and all he got was a fucking broken rib!

I had to get back at him. That guy had stolen my childhood. He had killed my little sister. He had hit me, stabbed me and ultimately ruined my life. It was my turn to get back at him.

I knew where he lived. _Duh_, I had lived there for twelve years! I went to his house in the middle of the night. I knew he'd be lying drunk by then. I went into his room and dragged him out into his car. I drove him out to an estate building and dragged him in. he was waking up by then, but he was still pissed and didn't really know what was going on. So I got a knife I'd nicked andI stabbed him over and over again. My hand were covered with his warm blood. i felt sick, but I couldn't stop. I was blinded by white hot rage. And then, when the blood was too much, I threw the knife away and started kicking him and punching him until he was just a mess of cuts and bruises. Then I got a can of petrol from the car and doused the whole building in it. I went back to the room my dad was in and looked at him one last time. He was barely recognisable. He was bruised and cut and bleeding, just lying there in a pool of his own blood. It should have been horrible, seeing my own father bleeding to death but, to be honest, I never felt so happy.

Then I struck a match, chucked it in and left. The bastard didn't die in the fire, but he went into a coma. They knew it was me, but there was no proof. The only thing they could get me for was nicking his car. The car that killed my sister. Ironic, huh?

I felt safe in Camp Greenlake. The guys there were too naive to ever hurt me, and nobody could come after me after there. Then Mr Sir got the phonecall. And I got sent to jail.

**IOIOIOIOIOI**

So here I am, sitting on my hard bed in jail, my knuckles red and bleeding and my nose broken from a fight I got into. I'm sixteen, and I've had the worst life ever.

By the time I was twelve, my dad had driven a knife three inches into my thigh.

My mum had forced a needle loaded with crack into my arm.

My dad had beat me mercilessly.

I'd been kicked out of two schools for never turning up.

I'd had to steal, sell drugs and fight to afford to feed my little sister.

Yeah you've heard it before. But my life's fucked up. Why should I not be able to tell people about it?

By the time I was fifteen, I had stolen anything I could.

I had beaten people up for kicks.

I had got myself hooked on crack.

I had sold drugs.

I had set fire to someone's house – while they were still in it.

I had stolen fifteen cars.

I had been arrested 17 times.

I had been sent to juvie three times.

I had slept on the streets.

Yeah. I get it. I'm a whiner. But I don't care. It gets worse. In fact, it couldn't get worse.

By the time I was seventeen, my sister was murdered.

My girlfriend had got pregnant by my best friend.

My mum had died of an overdose.

I had been sent to Camp Greenlake and met the weirdest, most naïve bunch of amateurs ever. And still thought they were ace, though I wouldn't tell them that.

I had beat up my dad until he was in a critical coma.

On my seventeenth birthday, the phonecall came.

By the time I was eighteen, I had killed a man.

**IOIOIOIOI**

**And that's the end. Short chappie, I know, and a sad ending. But Ashley was never going to get a happy ending. Please review, and review all my new fics! One should be appearing soon! I'll miss you, dear reviewers. And I'm dedicating this chappie to you all, especially Juicy Fruit Girl and dorkyduck. Goodbye!**

**JAR**


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